GAMBLING DECISION SHAKES UP THE CAPITAL

As they used to say in the '60s, "Like, wow, man." What a huge decision it is facing members of the Cape Girardeau City Council concerning the award of a riverboat gambling franchise for our community. Competing proposals from the Boyd and Lady Luck groups have been laid before us for all to evaluate. They are talk of the town, and choosing between them can fairly be said to be among the most momentous decisions ever to be faced by this community.

The Downtown Merchants Association has weighed in with a full-page ad in today's edition, while on another page Lady Luck makes its case. There are good and bad points for both sides, and the best we can hope for is that decisionmakers will carefully weigh all the facts and fair arguments before making a choice. Here at the newspaper, we'll continue working to ensure all the facts are laid out for you to evaluate.

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In a brief, screamingly funny piece of fiction, Woody Allen once wrote of a scientist "whose work with recombinant DNA had led to the creation of a gerbil that could sing "Let My People Go." Upon first hearing a laboratory rodent performing his little ditty, that stunned scientist could not have been rocked any more than was Jefferson City's establishment by this week's Supreme Court decision on riverboat gambling.

Though not entirely unanticipated, Tuesday's decision rearranged schedules and sent high-powered lobbyists scurrying after legislative leaders pledged to pick up the pieces. Time is of the essence if a constitutional amendment is to be placed before voters at an April election.

Other issues loom. The court essentially did two things: First, they ruled that the 1992 vote by which voters overwhelmingly backed gambling was inadequate; a new vote on a consitutional amendment is required before any plans can proceed.

Second, the court remanded (a fancy legal word meaning "send back") to the trial court a host of other issues. Among them is the famous (infamous?) "Admiral" exception on the St. Louis riverfront. Does the exception to the general rule of excursion boats, carefully crafted in last year's enabling legislation, constitute impermissible "special legislation"? If Circuit Court Judge James McHenry decides the answer is yes, more panic will ensue. Many more twists and turns will follow.

Consumed by other Capitol duties, I was unaware of the decision until late Tuesday afternoon. I retrieved a copy of Judge Duane Benton's opinion and spent 15 minutes reading it. Written for a unanimous court, Benton's opinion is a tightly reasoned, well-written masterpiece of judicial restraint whose paragraphs flow in a seamless web of step-by-step logic.

How great a contribution is that? It is inestimable. Of judges, we can ask little more than that they honestly endeavor to discover the law and weigh it against the unambiguous mandates of the constitution. As Senate Minority Leader Franc Flotron, R.-St. Louis, succinctly stated the matter, "If this is the kind of decision we can now expect from these judges, then we have a good Supreme Court." Reminds one of the old saw that "every law firm needs at least one good lawyer." Fortunately, I believe we have seven of them on this court.

Judge Benton's opinion fully justifies the confidence placed in him by former Gov. John Ashcroft, as well as the high praise heaped on that selection in this space at the time of the 1991 appointment. Duane, you make us all proud.

Meanwhile, a governor and legislative leaders whose budget plans include the now-threatened gambling funds have their work cut out for them. In St. Louis, especially, not all of the goings-on since gambling's 1992 endorsement by Missouri voters have been of the most savory variety. Maintaining public confidence in the whole business is absolutely vital.

Fortunately, Gov. Carnahan has appointed to the new state gaming commission leaders such as Warrensburg newspaper publisher Avis Tucker. One and all, they are people of unimpeachable integrity and fine reputation. Let us hope that those of us in the legislative branch can discharge our responsibilities with integrity and wisdom and dispatch. There's a lot at stake.